Cousin was quoted criticising the drinking habits and poor diet of his fellow Rangers players ahead of tomorrow night's winner-takes-all Champions League clash against Lyon.

He also allegedly bemoaned the standard of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and expressed a desire to move to the Barclays Premier League just five months after his summer switch from Lens.

However, Ferguson claims there are no problems in the dressing room ahead of their biggest game of the season after clear-the-air talks took place at Murray Park within hours of the article making its way to the Scottish press.

"He came into training yesterday afternoon and said he didn't say it," said the Ibrox skipper.

"That's good enough for all the boys at the club."

Cousin is expected to be given the nod as the lone striker in the absence of the injured Jean-Claude Darcheville when Lyon come calling.

He excelled in the same role the last time the two clubs met, when Rangers romped to a shock 3-0 win in France back in October, and Ferguson expects Cousin to be a hit once again.

"He was a big player in Lyon, he scored a fantastic goal and set up one as well," he said.

"He'll be a big player for us tomorrow night if selected."

Celtic have already set the standard by booking their place in the last 16 of the Champions League and Rangers are determined to emulate the success of their Old Firm rivals.

Such a scenario would mean two Scottish clubs in the latter stages of the tournament for the first time and Ferguson said: "It would be great. Celtic reached the last 16 last week and we want to do the same.

"We know it's a difficult task but all the boys will be right up for the game and with the fans behind us, a 52,000-sell-out, I'm sure they can roar us on to get the three points."

Didier Drogba agrees. He recently referred to the Ibrox atmosphere as "absolutely magical" after Chelsea lost to Rangers in a pre-season friendly in Glasgow and Ferguson hopes Lyon will be unnerved by the capacity crowd.

"I think it could happen and I hope it does," he said. "One of the best players in the world has said that he couldn't believe the atmosphere at Ibrox and I would go along with that.

"I've been to a lot of stadiums, in a lot of countries, and I think there is no better atmosphere than Ibrox on a European night."

A draw would allow Rangers to progress to the knockout phase along with Group E winners Barcelona and, asked who will be under the most pressure tomorrow night, Ferguson replied: "Lyon. They need to win.

"At the start of the group campaign, nobody gave us a chance of even getting a UEFA Cup spot so the pressure is on Lyon.

"We will just go out and enjoy the occasion and hopefully get the win."

Ferguson admits free-kick specialist Juninho is the biggest obstacle standing between Rangers and a precious point.

But he was more diplomatic in his evaluation of the player than goalkeeper Allan McGregor who recently branded the Lyon man a cheat.

"Juninho is a great player and we all know about his set-pieces, he showed how dangerous he can be in Lyon, and we need to be careful about that," said Ferguson.

"I think he is the biggest threat to us. They have a lot of fantastic players and we will need to be careful but you can't help giving fouls away and hopefully we will have a strong referee.

"We have to be careful. There aren't many people who can take a free-kick like Juninho, he's the best about."